Posted on 12/10/2001 1:33:57 PM PST by SAMWolf
Portland police have rejected U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft's request for help in questioning thousands of young Middle Eastern men because the interviews likely would violate state law, the bureau's acting police chief said Tuesday.
Andrew Kirkland, an assistant police chief who is in charge of the Portland Police Bureau while Chief Mark Kroeker is on vacation this week, said the bureau was immediately troubled by the request when it arrived late last week.
Ashcroft has announced a plan to interview 5,000 men on an FBI list as part of the nation's developing anti-terrorism efforts. But Kirkland said the federal government's multiple-page document on the plan and a list of 200 men in the Portland area contained "no specific information" about crimes for which they might be suspected.
"It was fairly general," Kirkland said, "and some of the things it asked of us we questioned if we could do them or if we wanted to do them."
Without giving details, Kirkland said he, Kroeker and city attorneys were concerned the request violated Oregon law prohibiting local police from questioning immigrants when there is no evidence they are connected to a crime and foreign citizenship is the only issue.
"You can't use personnel and equipment just to go out and randomly interview people solely on immigration," Kirkland said. Portland's is the only police department known to have refused to cooperate with Ashcroft's request for assistance in questioning people in an attempt to gather more information in the nation's intensifying terrorism investigation.
Because of the length of the national list, and Ashcroft's desire to complete the interviews within 30 days, the attorney general sees the help of local police departments as crucial.
Kirkland said he had heard that police departments in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Tucson, Ariz., were beginning to raise similar concerns.
Michael Mosman, the U.S. attorney for Oregon, said he wasn't concerned about the Police Bureau's decision and that other law enforcement agencies in the state "are more than willing to help." He added that he is confident the plan doesn't violate any state or federal laws.
Not all of the men on the list are from the Middle East and none is a suspected terrorist, Mosman said. "They're not people with a criminal history," he said. "As far as we know, every one of them is here lawfully and engaging in lawful lives... They didn't get on the list because of race or ethnicity."
When asked how they wound up on an anti-terrorism list, Mosman said they had come to the United States in the past two years on tourism, student and business visas from countries with terrorist links.
He said the effort was tantamount to a traffic officer arriving to the scene of a car wreck and attempting to interview everyone standing around. "We are interviewing a number of people nationwide just to get more information," he said.
Portland's decision, he said, was "a tempest in a teapot," especially since the bureau is actively involved with other efforts to fight terrorism.
Kirkland said he was personally concerned that a city with a growing immigrant population might view the interviews as racial profiling. But the decision, ultimately, was based on "troubles with (Ashcroft's) directive," he said.
Mayor Vera Katz had not seen the request, yet was aware of the bureau decision, calling it "a wise one." "I do have a concern when we're asked to do something that violates state law," she said.
In the meantime, the word is out that Oregon is a safe haven for terrorists.
Soon I expect to read that bin Laden is doing fundraising lectures at the Convention Center.
That if a family member of yours, anywhere in the US or the world was harmed or killed by a terrorist shielded and abetted by Portland, all involved will be sued in civil courts as individuals not as city personnel. This would send a loud and clear message to these clymers.
When is Portland going to become a part of America?
Please see my reply #62 which I was posting as you posted this!
Nothing strikes more terror into bureaucrats than a vow to sue them personally in civil court if something bad happens to any member of your family due to their left wing agendas!
About 2 decades ago, our left wing city council and mayor tried to put a halfway house for alcoholics and druggies in our neighborhood. It would have been 1.5 blocks away from an elementary school! The neighbor was an upscale neighborhood in one of the town's more desireable areas.
They rammed this thing through until a small group us went to the final council meeting and gave each of them a letter saying we would sue them personally in civil courts and then hold them personally responsible if something happen to any of our children or wives due to their actions. They went ballastic and lost control.
After the meeting was adjourned our group was confronted by the mayor (liberal b$tch) and a 6' 3" liberal council guy. I told them who my lawyer was, and that I would own their homes and them if something happened to anyone in my family due to this decision. They did not want to tangle with my lawyer and you could see them start to lose some desire in their plan!
At that time the 6'3" came up started to tap my chest to scare me. While I had his index finger in my hand, one of our group was a 3 time Marine Larp sniper in Nam. He came up and took the big liberals hand out of mine and looked him in the eye and said, "If my daughter or wife is hurt by one of your so called clients, you will not worry about civil lawsuit. I will not waste my time in court!"
They dropped the halfway house. Later we discovered that the whole thing was planned by a group of left winger realtors to drive our property value down in this area. Then they would buy the houses at fire sale prices, close down the half way house and resale the homes at huge gains!
My lawyer, later, got a question from the city lawyer about him filing personal lawsuits in civil courts. My lawyer informed him that he and the council and mayor would be sued in civil courts if something happened. Apparently the city lawyer came close to soiling his pants when he heard this.
It took less than 1 month of reading the left wing Oregonian to forever change our minds. Portland is heading the way of Seattle in a rapid way!
To all living in Portland or around it. Cancel your Oregonian subscription. Send half of your monthly savings to the Boy Scouts and the other half to Free Republic! Don't finance their left wing agenda/diversity/political correctness agendas!
The Portland area is a haven for terrorists and the only area in the state with vehicle smog checks... {:~)
I don't live in Portland; I live 30 miles away, however, so I do take an interest in this.
The problem with Portland is that the Oregonian is left wing and the tv news stations are politically correct. They focus on the weirdos living in th NW and working for the city as the leading citizens. No body else can get the media to carry their side of the story! Last but not least is the love affair that so many Portlanders have with the envirals. Most are card carrying/dues paying enviral members. If the ONRC says to vote for a eco terrorists, they vote for the eco terrorists for the environment!
This is done in every liberal major city in America. Portland is not by itself!
They used Las Vegas too, to plan things. They seem to be everywhere. Good to see you my friend.
Then they'd get a lot of mail...end of story. Sorry, Grampa,...they've got the numbers. They don't care what we think, and they don't have to care.
When Vera was a State Legislator, she sponsored a bill to outlaw Pit-Bull ownership...and I think Pits are pretty...so, please, pick on another breed.
Why not? If their immigration is ILLEGAL (overstayed, undocumented, etc.) they have broken the LAW. I can't immagine a better use of police resources.
The Socialist Republic of Madison also will not follow Ashcroft's order.
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